Health services of San Joaquin Valley residents fall short of statewide and national averages – the region leads the state in rates of infant mortality, teen births, and late access to prenatal care. The Valley’s health care sector is poorly equipped to address the current health challenges of the region and may be unable to meet emerging needs of the growing population. Access is more difficult for Valley residents because of a lack of health insurance, a scarcity of providers, and language and cultural barriers.

Focus

The Health Work Group focuses on providing San Joaquin Valley residents access to quality health care and services, developing education and training systems to increase the number of health care workers in the region, and improving access to state resources for health services.

Priority 7 | Health

Working to keep our population healthy means we cannot overlook or neglect the tremendous need to treat and care for those residents in our region who are currently struggling with health issues and chronic illnesses. Efforts to advance health equity must encompass actions to ensure all residents have health insurance and access to high-quality, affordable health care.

Focus

Adopt a health in all policies approach in regional and local decision-making.

Adopt land use policies that reflect an emphasis on smart and equitable growth.

Ensure that all communities, including those that are unincorporated, have access to safe drinking water.

Support the alignment of policies to ensure clean air.

Incentivize retail, public places.

Support and increase the capacity of our public health and health care workforce to identify and address disparities.

Support and increase enrollment in health insurance.

Support and align initiatives intended to improve health and reduce the incidence of chronic disease among Valley residents.

2016 Report

The Health and Wellness Cluster collaborated with California Health Data team in a new statewide project funded by the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF)’s Free the Data initiative. The goal behind this initiative is to bring together local communities with California’s health data. See Full 2016 Report